1. The Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the invention relates to wireless communications networks and related systems and devices. More particularly, embodiments of the invention relate to systems and methods for identifying locations of device activity in a wireless network.
2. The Relevant Technology
As a result of advances in technology and enormous increases in the number of wireless device users, the size and complexity of wireless communications networks have greatly increased. An inevitable consequence of such increases in size and complexity has been a relative increase in operational and performance problems associated with communications networks. Dropped calls, lack of coverage, and poor audio quality are examples of issues that frustrate end users. These and other quality issues can increase the cost of customer service and of maintaining the network and may also contribute to customer loss.
As new services are introduced that use even more complex technology, exercise different usage modalities, or place additional demands on networks, network performance will continue to be a factor that impacts usage of the technology. Quality of service also has a direct impact on customer churn, a costly problem that reduces profitability. Therefore, improving quality of service is often a top priority for service providers.
One of the difficulties associated with resolving reliability issues and improving quality of service is related to the locations of the wireless devices operating in the network. If the location of a wireless device is unknown, however, it becomes very difficult to identify and resolve reliability issues.
Conventional methods for resolving reliability issues and for improving quality of service do not adequately monitor and report a particular end user's experience with network usage. Typically, service providers often rely on the end user to report performance problems to a customer service representative. Once the problem is reported, however, the end user's problem often cannot be duplicated due to the difficulty of recounting the details of what the end user experienced, the timing of the occurrence, the lack of underlying data to validate the end user's problem, and the location of the end user's device when the problem was experienced.
In addition, the lack of location data for issues reported by end users prevents the service provider from obtaining a holistic view of the network. Without this type of view, service providers are often unable to appreciate the scope of the problem and are often frustrated in their attempts to prioritize the resolution of network issues. Systems and methods are needed that enable the location of a device to be ascertained in a manner that permits issues in the network and/or other device operating in the network to be diagnosed and resolved.